


Dancing at the Edge of Dawn

by WotanAnubis



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Crimson Flower, Dancer, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Post-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 12:23:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20564288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WotanAnubis/pseuds/WotanAnubis
Summary: In which Emperor Edelgard reaches for a piece of the past she'd thought she'd discarded.





	Dancing at the Edge of Dawn

"Where is it? _Where is it?_"

Emperor Edelgard, sole ruler of Adrestia, pawed frantically through the musty school uniforms littering her old wardrobe. She was dimly aware that if she wasn't so frantic she probably would've found what she'd been looking for already, but her emotions kept getting in the way.

Black school uniform after black school uniform got tossed carelessly aside. She didn't much looking at them. They were a pointed reminder of the year of lies when she'd been able to be herself. Even now, she wore a mask. Calm. Competent. Ruthless. It was necessary, but it was the Emperor's face. The revolutionary's. She wasn't sure it was Edelgard's.

Edelgard relaxed. Let out a breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding. Here it was. Faded, frayed, moth-eaten, and in dire need of a wash. It contrasted sharply with all the other black clothes because it was white. Sort of white. It had been white, five years ago.

Her Dancer's costume.

Edelgard sat on the cold floor, stared at it mutely. If she didn't know how she felt about her old school uniforms, she certainly didn't know how she felt about this outfit. It was... something from out of time. An old-fashioned style that hadn't been in vogue in Fódlan for centuries. It had tassels and veils and... and other things Edelgard didn't know the words for. They certainly weren't clothes fit for an Emperor.

She loved the outfit anyway.

She wasn't entirely sure why. There were a lot of feelings tangled up in those threads that she'd never cared to examine too closely. Especially not once her beloved Teacher had disappeared. But now she was back, and-

Edelgard stood up, stripped out of her clothes, and put on her Dancer's costume. This was easier said than done. The outfit had been figure-hugging five years ago and between then and now she'd grown a bit. Not to mention the fact she'd got a bit... well... bustier. The fabric strained against her chest, threatening expose her if not tear apart entirely if Edelgard so much as breathed wrong.

Still, it fit. Kind of. She could still sort of wear it.

There were sandals that went with this outfit, weren't there?

A quick search produced the sandals, buried beneath a pile of hastily discarded old school uniforms. There were in even more dire a need of replacement than the clothes. Edelgard put them on anyway. They were too tight.

Edelgard stood up straight and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Right then. This was it. Time to see if she still got it.

Let's see now... to start she'd need to place her feet like _this_ and her arms like _this_ and her hips needed to be swaying as well, didn't they? Well, the swaying was a bit too advanced right now. For the moment it'd be better to focus on the basic steps.

Edelgard wished she'd had some music to accompany her steps, but that'd mean having someone else in the room with her and that was just out of the question.

It'd been five years since she'd last danced. There'd been times she'd been convinced she'd never dance again, not for anyone. Or with anyone. Still, how hard could it be? She'd put in real effort in learning to dance for her- for the White Heron Cup. And, of course, waltzing was considered an essential skill for every noble. Surely she still knew the basics?

Edelgard managed four steps before she tripped over her own feet. She flailed wildly with her arms trying to keep balance, knocking a dusty bottle of perfume off her desk. She managed to sit down heavily on the bed.

Alright. So. That could have gone better.

Her heart grew cold with disappointment. She'd thought... well, she'd hoped... she'd _dreamed_ of putting on her old Dancer's costume again and... well... dancing for Byleth.

There.

She had no idea why her Teacher had chosen her to participate in the White Heron Cup all those years ago. Dorothea would have been the obvious. She'd had practise. Petra, too, would've been understandable. She had a kind of grace that was exotic and alluring. But she? She was all prim, proper rigidity. Or had pretended to be, anyway. No charm, no grace, so why had her Teacher chosen her for a dance competition?

Maybe Byleth had seen something in her even she wasn't aware of her. Perhaps her Teacher that somewhere deep down inside, she could move freely, unburdened, concerned only with the beauty of the dance. And maybe... possibly... perhaps... the beauty of Edelgard?

Maybe that's why she'd decided to put her Dancer's costume back on. To show her Teacher - to show _Byleth_ \- that she was more than just the grim, imposing Adrestian Emperor. That, somewhere, she was still free and graceful.

But she couldn't dance any more.

Edelgard sighed, then raised her head. Alright, so she'd suffered a setback. So her work was going to be harder than she'd first hoped. But if she just gave up at the first sign of trouble, she wouldn't be Edelgard.

"Hubert?"

"Yes, Lady Edelgard?"

The voice was muffled by the heavy wood of her closed door. Edelgard hadn't actually ordered him to guard her room or stand by or anything. But Hubert did have this uncanny knack for being there when she needed him.

"Could you please find Dorothea and tell her I'd like to speak with her?"

"At once, Lady Edelgard."

Edelgard closed her eyes and allowed her attention to drift a bit while she waited. She'd dance again. In Enbarr, in the Imperial Palace's throne room. It'd be empty, the heavy red light of the setting sun streaming in through the windows. Byleth would be seated on the throne, of course. And she, Edelgard, would be down the steps, dancing for her. An Imperial dancing girl.

She wasn't sure what kind of dance she'd dance. Or, well, she was sure. But this wasn't the time for _those_ kinds of thoughts.

The door to Edelgard's room opened with a creak.

"You sent for me my- _Oh, Edie!_"

"Please close the door," Edelgard pleaded.

"Right away."

Dorothea slammed the door shut, then sat down on the bed next to Edelgard. Without asking for permission. With a kind of familiarity she hadn't shown in five years.

"Well, I have to say, this is a very pleasant surprise," Dorothea said.

"How so?" Edelgard asked.

"I just didn't suspect you'd still have it in you, you know?" Dorothea said. "You were - are - so focussed on your goal, I didn't think you still had room inside of yourself for anything else. And now look at you. I'm glad to see I was wrong."

Edelgard stared down at her hands. Her face felt hot, but with any luck she wasn't blushing.

"I'm not sure you were wrong," she said.

"What do you mean?" Dorothea asked.

Edelgard's fingers twisted into a knot. When she spoke, it was barely a whisper. "I've forgotten how to dance."

"Ah," said Dorothea. "Yes, I think I see how you might have. But you want to dance, am I right?"

Edelgard nodded mutely.

"Any reason in particular?" Dorothea asked sweetly. "Do you just want to dance for yourself? Or for _her_?"

"Dorothea!" Edelgard exclaimed. She was definitely blushing now.

Dorothea laughed. A high, clear, beautiful melody. When was the last time she'd heard her laugh? Months ago? Years?

"I'm only teasing, Edie, don't worry," said Dorothea.

"Oh," said Edelgard. If anything, she was only blushing harder now.

Dorothea gave her an unusually sly look. "Still... Our dear beloved Professor walks back into our lives after years of absence and suddenly here you are, all dressed up and ready to dance."

"Not that ready," Edelgard mumbled.

"You know, I remember back when you won that outfit," Dorothea mused. "You weren't looking at the judges. Or the crowd."

"I was looking at... our Teacher," Edelgard admitted.

"Yeah. You were always looking at the future. Still are, I guess. But for that one moment in time, your gaze was entirely on Byleth."

"It was more than one moment," Edelgard said.

"Well, it was the one I witnessed," said Dorothea. "But come on, enough reminiscing. You won't get back in practise just sitting around."

Dorothea stood up and took a step to the middle of the room. She raised her arms in an empty embrace. Edelgard rose from her bed and filled it. Dorothea was soft and warm and not Byleth. But for now she was... comforting.

"So, do you want to start with something proper and stately or slow and seductive?" Dorothea asked.

"Let's just start with the basics," said Edelgard, her face so red it would surely be able to melt ice.

"The basics, she says. Oh, very well. As you wish, Edie," said Dorothea.

"Dorothea?" Edelgard said, as the two girls whirled in place in a room that was suddenly too small.

"Yes, Edie?"

"I'm glad to hear you call me 'Edie' again."

Dorothea smiled. "And I'm just happy to see you dance again."


End file.
